Latest / Ducks Unlimited Podcast / Decoy Carving, Tradition & Creativity: Inside the Work of Josh Brewer (Ep 783)

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Decoy Carving, Tradition & Creativity: Inside the Work of Josh Brewer (Ep 783) · Ducks Unlimited Podcast

• 0:00
  VO: Can we do a mic check, please? Everybody, welcome back to the Ducks Unlimited Podcast. I'm your host, doctor Mike Brasher. I'm your host, Katie Burke. I'm your host, doctor Jerad Henson. And I'm your host, Matt Harrison. Welcome to the Ducks Unlimited Podcast, the only podcast about all things waterfowl. From hunting insights to science based discussions about ducks, geese, and issues affecting waterfowl and wetlands conservation in North America. The DU Podcast, sponsored by Purina Pro Plan, the official performance dog food of Ducks Unlimited. Purina Pro Plan, always advancing. Also proudly sponsored by Bird Dog Whiskey and Cocktails. Whether you're winding down with your best friend or celebrating with your favorite crew, Bird Dog brings award winning flavor to every moment. Enjoy responsibly.
• 1:05
  Katie Burke: Hi, everybody. Welcome to the Ducks Unlimited Podcast. I'm your host, Katie Burke. And today on the show, have Josh Brewer. Josh is a decoy carver.
• 1:13
  Welcome to the show, Josh.
• 1:15
  Josh Brewer: Thanks for having me. Glad to be here.
• 1:16
  Katie Burke: Yeah. So, well, actually, you've been on the podcast once, but actually, you've done it. This is your third one.
• 1:21
  Josh Brewer: Right.
• 1:22
  Katie Burke: Because we had Right. Just scratched one Yeah.
• 1:24
  Josh Brewer: Yeah. That we did Cooper. Fun to sit in anybody's shop and talk about decoys.
• 1:27
  Katie Burke: Yeah. And we had like a couple beers and we ate oyster. That was really fun. So we'll have to do that again.
• 1:31
  Josh Brewer: Yeah.
• 1:32
  Katie Burke: Just because for fun time.
• 1:33
  Josh Brewer: And it's hard to get duck hunters and decoy carvers together in November, which is a pretty great time of year. That's when we did that one. Yep. So, yeah.
• 1:39
  Katie Burke: That was really fun. No. I really like that. So and you go to do you go to Easton every year? I do.
• 1:44
  Did you go last year? Yeah. Yeah. You were there.
• 1:46
  Josh Brewer: Every year that I've been kinda actively carving, I've been there since I was 17, I think.
• 1:50
  Katie Burke: Yeah. Because you're from the area. Yeah. Yeah. I'm still growing up.
• 1:53
  So since last time we did this was two years ago. Right. Basically, like right before the show. Yeah.
• 2:01
  Josh Brewer: I didn't make it here last year.
• 2:02
  Katie Burke: And so and you were the featured Carver that year. Yep. I guess and then we should say that this is where we so we're at the North American Decoy Collectors Association. And this year we're doing something different. We are actually going into the hotel rooms because it is the really unique thing about this show
• 2:18
  Josh Brewer: Mhmm.
• 2:18
  Katie Burke: Is it's as you said a minute ago before we were on air, it's like the hotel is like turns into an antique mall.
• 2:24
  Josh Brewer: Yeah. Yeah.
• 2:24
  Katie Burke: Yeah. And you just wander around. So we did them in the hotel room. So there's a bed and all the all the things. That's why it looks this way.
• 2:32
  You know It's
• 2:32
  Josh Brewer: pretty fun though. Gets you a home base. It's a home base for collecting and going and seeing other people, and rather than standing at a table at a show, they can sit down and take a load off and talk. And it's nice.
• 2:42
  Katie Burke: And like, people have beers later in the day, and they walk around. It's super fun. And your room's a little bit different because I'm doing three collectors in you, so you're the only Carver we're So the carver rooms are definitely more set up like a gallery Right. Right. Versus where the other ones are like, there's stuff everywhere.
• 3:00
  Right. Yeah. Yeah. So we kind of like set you have more curated
• 3:04
  Josh Brewer: Yeah. A little bit. It I was talking to somebody yesterday, you know, there's all this all the sort of folklore surrounding hunting and collecting and all of this. And if you collect and then bring stuff here, you usually have a lot more. Yeah.
• 3:18
  When you have to make each piece and you want to bring fresh new stuff, it's the rooms aren't quite as full, but, you know, that's okay.
• 3:24
  Katie Burke: Well, yeah. There's a lot more there's a lot more effort put into the actual making of things. So I asked a question I was going ask. So when you're thinking about this show, like, I know about, like, more when I've talked to, like, flat artists Mhmm. Because they do way more shows than you all do.
• 3:40
  Right. How, like, are you thinking about what you're going to bring? How much of it is already sold versus is available to sale? Yeah. What's your strategy for That's
• 3:51
  Josh Brewer: always a struggle because, know, I'm fortunate to get to do this. And I I realize there are a lot of guys who are very talented who would love to do it. It's just sometimes the barriers to entry are not what you'd think. It's not necessarily just talent. It's in the right place at the right time.
• 4:05
  So to be able to do this for a living, I'm very fortunate. And I think that when you show up at a show, it's the hard thing is to say, how do I make sure I've taken care of my clientele who has things ordered? But then also bring new fresh stuff and fresh ideas. So I usually use the show as a proving ground for some fresh ideas and for things that I bring to collectors who I know will be here who ordered things. So Yeah.
• 4:26
  A lot of it's frequently sold, but that's because I made the things to bring and drop off and to show and
• 4:31
  Katie Burke: Yeah.
• 4:32
  Josh Brewer: It's kind of a of a picture of what I've been doing the last few months or, you know, new stuff from the year that I want to show other people.
• 4:40
  Katie Burke: Yeah. So that's that's interesting that you said like, things that are maybe a little different than what you have been doing.
• 4:46
  Josh Brewer: Right.
• 4:47
  Katie Burke: I guess my question with that is, is like, okay, obviously, that's something you were inspired to do, right, as an So, when it's received well, are you excited to get to explore that more? Mhmm. Or are you like, oh, no, just did that, been there?
• 5:03
  Josh Brewer: No. I that's that's tough. I mean, I'd be lying if I didn't say for myself and probably for a lot of other guys who do this. Whenever you make something that's you know, decoys have their own little niche. A lot of people hesitate to call them art.
• 5:18
  I still do, but, you know
• 5:20
  Katie Burke: I appreciate what that you do.
• 5:21
  Josh Brewer: Yeah. Yeah. They're definitely folk art, I hated that term growing up, but I like it now, you know, it's this useful
• 5:28
  Katie Burke: Right.
• 5:29
  Josh Brewer: It's rooted in use, but it we all took it a little further than that, you know, there so anyway, to get to make something like that and to bring something new, there's a lot of mentality of saying, how do I keep it fresh? But how do I also not try to make it about you were saying, is it a chart? Like, does does it charge you up to have somebody really like something? Yeah. I try to insulate myself from that a little Okay.
• 5:55
  Because Yeah. Makes sense. You know, I know I'm going to make things that some people don't like as well, and I know I'm going to make things that people love. And at the end of the day, not it's really important to me that other people enjoy them. Yeah.
• 6:06
  But I've found that if I enjoy them a lot, the people who like my work usually do. Yeah. So it's hard coming to a show and saying, okay, you know, you don't wear your heart completely on your sleeve. You make things that you love and when it works for everybody, then it's a great great time. Yeah.
• 6:21
  When it doesn't, you go home and sometimes you make the same thing again. You say, I enjoy that and I like it. Yeah. And you dig your heels in.
• 6:27
  Katie Burke: Now, you know, reminds me, my husband always says, because I do these stupid crazy races, you know. And sometimes, like, I won't do as well and he'll look at me and go, Katie, nobody cares. Right. Right. You just ran this distance.
• 6:40
  That's all they care about. Like, don't like they're not going to ask you
• 6:43
  Josh Brewer: Yeah. How it went. That's true. We've got to
• 6:46
  Katie Burke: Like, you don't need to personalize it
• 6:48
  Josh Brewer: so much. Yeah. I I don't I don't yeah. I look at this stuff and I say, it's not all about pleasing myself with the work, but to some degree, is about making something you feel good about. And Yeah.
• 6:59
  You know, a lot of stuff, whether people really liked it in the moment or whether they really hated it, the real test is going to be time. And so sometimes when you innovate, that's a real big splash and sometimes it's not. But, you know, ten years go by and the whole world thinks a little bit differently of it. Yeah. Your wins and your losses sometimes change sides.
• 7:19
  Katie Burke: And then, like, you have to also weigh, I'm guessing, at the same time weigh, like, what was learned. Right.
• 7:24
  Josh Brewer: Right.
• 7:24
  Katie Burke: Right. Yeah. And especially as an artist, like, you're always having to push your boundary and, like, figure out what what you're learning and how you're
• 7:32
  Josh Brewer: So to make it less abstract, especially for, you know, anybody kind enough to have gotten this far. But, you know, I I sort of made my name in probably my decoys and their paint and I did a lot of detail early on. And I've always known that like what I collect, it's not usually about detail. And when I think about a great decoy on the water, it's very frequently not about detail. And whether you're a totally modern duck hunter who wants entirely modern, say a plastic rig or whether you are a vintage guy and you say, I want, you know, all wooden decoys.
• 8:06
  I can tell you that no matter which angle you come at it from, details probably aren't always what we're what we think we're after. They sell to us visually in our little moment, but
• 8:18
  Katie Burke: But maybe not to the ducks.
• 8:19
  Josh Brewer: For ducks on the water. So I mean, you see now a lot guys are coming out with the blackout decoys. Yeah. So you've got entirely black decoys. Right?
• 8:25
  Katie Burke: Right.
• 8:25
  Josh Brewer: And it becomes about form and silhouette and stuff like that. So I get to get back to I've taken a year where I've done a lot more form pieces and a lot less detail. And some people are like, oh, it's a lot easier to paint that. And you'd be surprised. It isn't always.
• 8:43
  Right. Sometimes it's really it's hard to pare back to all the things that you decided not to do in something. Right. Very important decisions.
• 8:51
  Katie Burke: It's it's harder. Yeah. It's a I know I get that completely. It gets harder to retract
• 8:56
  Josh Brewer: Yeah. Yeah. Than it is to add. Yeah. My easiest job in making a decoy is adding more detail.
• 9:02
  You can always add more detail.
• 9:03
  Katie Burke: And it And paint and oil, so it's Yeah.
• 9:06
  Josh Brewer: Yeah. And that usually that gets its fair share of appreciation, but I think the longer I go, the more I really do like I'm a form guy.
• 9:13
  Katie Burke: Yeah. No. That's interesting. I mean, I do I I agree. I mean, there are certain decoys out there where like the paint Yeah.
• 9:22
  We there's a few in the show, but and I'm blanking on intro. But there's a few, like, car old carvers with their paint. It's just every time I see them, I'm like it floors me. But for the most part, I feel like form is the thing that drives.
• 9:37
  Josh Brewer: Yeah. And, you know, for me
• 9:39
  Katie Burke: That attracts me to something.
• 9:40
  Josh Brewer: The other thing is the details are fine. It's not that they're good or bad. In some ways, they're kind of neutral. It's does the form warrant that extra detail? And when it does, then make it make it glow, say, you know, that's fine.
• 9:52
  But but the form's got to be there.
• 9:54
  Katie Burke: Yeah.
• 9:55
  Josh Brewer: It's got a you know, from 20 yards away, you should look across a room or across a a decoy spread and say, ah, that one clicks for me.
• 10:02
  Katie Burke: Yeah. So how do you do you have like one here like to show where you've transitioned? Do you have one that's more detailed versus more formed? Yeah. We
• 10:12
  Josh Brewer: were to take so this is a little bit you might say to yourself, this is bit of a complicated decoy, right? A lot of us don't have wing up birds in our spread.
• 10:20
  Katie Burke: Plastics can't really do that.
• 10:22
  Josh Brewer: It's it's kind of hard. And there are inherent fragilities, but these are kind of like a Down East style. When I say Down east, that's Coastal Maine, really two thirds of the way up in Maine. So you get this This
• 10:35
  Katie Burke: is where you are now located.
• 10:36
  Josh Brewer: Yeah. I grew up on the Eastern Shore Of Maryland, but packed up and moved to Coastal Maine in Deer Isle. And so, I've always liked some animation in birds, but I wanted to figure out how I could do that and not make it about the details. How can you just really pare it down to what a duck does on the water? Always liked preeners and sleepers.
• 10:58
  So for the folks who don't know, there's a real big influence on me. Well, several of them from the Canadian Maritimes down, and the one most local to me and that I collect the most is Gus Wilson. Mhmm. That's I really love his forms and all. And you know, I got when I started carving, was really into things like my dad was a big influence on me and he was a furniture maker.
• 11:21
  So one thing I love about New England and coastal decoys is they had stuff like mortise and tenon joinery and, you know, they were pegged in and their construction details were really neat. So I kind of always have had that in my DNA. So this is an example of a bird that really has exceedingly little detail in paint. Mhmm. But I kind of felt like it was a success in looking at it and speaking black duck to me.
• 11:46
  And with a few things that are a few things that are challenges. It's a challenge to weight a decoy like this. So
• 11:52
  Katie Burke: Yeah. I noticed that earlier. Was looking at your wing.
• 11:54
  Josh Brewer: We have a wing out here. I've got a counterbalance for it down here. So they're hollow. That's not a New England thing. If this was an old old bird like by Gus, it would have been solid almost certainly.
• 12:06
  But I have time now and they were making them a little faster and not thinking they were going to be around a hundred years.
• 12:21
  VO: Stay tuned to the Ducks Unlimited Podcast sponsored by Purina Pro Plan and Bird Dog Whiskey after these messages.
• 12:37
  Katie Burke: How are you thinking about the form of that, and then what is gonna be on the water with weighting it? Like, are you doing it with while you're carving it? Or is
• 12:45
  Josh Brewer: it like Yeah. The post. Times. I got the rough form out and then I I knew that I kind of had an idea in mind for what the weight of the wing was. The biggest thing is not weight actually, it's windage.
• 12:56
  So when you think about decoys, you know, a lot of us love a high head bird. Mhmm. But a high head bird, whether it's a modern plastic or whether it's an old decoy, you've really got to think about what's underwater because otherwise they wanna They want to flip over. Over. Yeah.
• 13:11
  And, you know, if you're hunting on a little tiny wood duck pond, that's different than if you're hunting in tide and wind and stuff like that.
• 13:18
  Katie Burke: Yeah. So And you really can tell, like and I have not hunted with a lot of wooden decoys just because of where I'm from.
• 13:25
  Josh Brewer: Mhmm.
• 13:25
  Katie Burke: But, like, Marty came down last year, Marty Hanson, and he had a he had a rig out, and I was like and he built them to be hunted at my like, he called me months before and was like, what are we hunting? Mhmm. Where are we hunting? Mhmm. And there were and he
• 13:40
  Josh Brewer: built them for that like For the place.
• 13:43
  Katie Burke: For the place. Yeah. And the way they move and the littlest amount of like, because that's like the biggest duck on our problem is like getting your decoys to move.
• 13:51
  Josh Brewer: Yeah. You don't want to see a stagnant bunch.
• 13:53
  Katie Burke: No. Ducks don't want to see a stagnant bunch. They want to see moving animals. So they but the label just a little about a little about mountain wind. So it makes a difference.
• 14:03
  Josh Brewer: It does.
• 14:04
  Katie Burke: And, yeah, you have to really think about that as well. And I didn't even think about that with the wind and the wing.
• 14:10
  Josh Brewer: Yeah. I mean, it was a So with my black ducks, I I it's time now to do the all the resting poses Mhmm. Because those are really I mean, in my mind well, these actually will get used. But, in my mind, I realize a lot of people buy mine for the shelf. But Yeah.
• 14:25
  In the end, I still want to wait them. I still want them to be real. I I don't like fake stuff.
• 14:29
  Katie Burke: Do you prefer them buying when you get like because you've had a lot of rigs lately. You did the You've canvas done these. I'm guessing you're doing another rig.
• 14:39
  Josh Brewer: So it's been a big canvas back year.
• 14:40
  Katie Burke: Are you gonna go more minimal on the new canvas back rig? In between. In between.
• 14:45
  Josh Brewer: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I like the like the paint on the hens. I like the Drakes can be less paint just because of the boldness of Mhmm.
• 14:55
  But I still like to throw some paint at Do
• 14:57
  Katie Burke: you like thinking about it as a whole? Like, when you do just one decoy, like, you get to think about the whole rig?
• 15:04
  Josh Brewer: Yeah. I I actually when I make a rig, I sketch them first in miniature. Okay. I sketch them in the water. Okay.
• 15:11
  I sketch them like it's a drawing.
• 15:13
  Katie Burke: Okay.
• 15:13
  Josh Brewer: And I want to know like where the high heads are. And if I'm going to incorporate something that's a contrast, I want to know kind of like how that goes. And in my own birds, I've gone so far as to number them, so I know which way they go out.
• 15:25
  Katie Burke: As long as this is the element
• 15:26
  Josh Brewer: of line.
• 15:27
  Katie Burke: Yeah. My next question is like, do you give them a diagram when you say, this is how you kind
• 15:31
  Josh Brewer: Well, of put them in the I I don't I don't don't get in their business like that. But when I'm doing my own, I like that. Yeah. And I'll honest with you, it sounds way too over controlled or too complicated. But when you see them in the water, it's you know, in duck hunting when you're setting out decoys, a minute of planning Oh, yeah.
• 15:51
  Is great for the whole rest of the morning. Yeah. So I kind of like that. Yeah.
• 15:55
  Katie Burke: And it depends on like too, like, because we have the same places. So like, we know how I don't need a minute because I know what I'm going to do every But and I know, like, depending on where the wind is, but that's interesting, yeah, to think about.
• 16:07
  Josh Brewer: You can set up mud clods on a bank and attract ducks. And I mean, I've done it, and I've seen it work. And it really doesn't have to be over complicated, but there's a joy I take in it. So Yeah. That's for
• 16:18
  Katie Burke: No, it's different. I get it. No. I I did not get it because again, I grew up in Mississippi. We don't have all that.
• 16:25
  Everyone knows. It's whole story. But then when you finally do see it, it is different.
• 16:30
  Josh Brewer: Yeah.
• 16:31
  Katie Burke: And it's it feels like you're connecting more to
• 16:34
  Josh Brewer: Yeah.
• 16:35
  Katie Burke: What it used to be. And it helps you realize that these carvers, these older carvers did think about was thought that went into these decoys.
• 16:46
  Josh Brewer: Right. When they lived around it too.
• 16:48
  Katie Burke: Yes. Like, it's know, it's It's
• 16:50
  Josh Brewer: thing to really want from our house with our LCD screens around us and all and to see a picture of a bird and say, I want to make that. It's different than living in a lighthouse and looking at those birds every day. I lived it. So I try to make sure I get out a lot and, know, I don't get as much time to hunt as I'd like. Need it.
• 17:12
  Nobody nobody not many people do. But I try we live pretty pretty close to the water, so I get down. One of the coolest things this year, I bought a pair of binoculars for my kid, I thought these are, you know, tiny. And at first, I was like, they're going to be useless. They're so small.
• 17:29
  They're pocket
• 17:30
  Katie Burke: really nice now.
• 17:32
  Josh Brewer: I I will say I splurged on a pair of Lycas. Yeah. It was a Facebook marketplace find. Right? So so my kid has these nice little binoculars, but they're in my pocket all the time now.
• 17:41
  Yeah. So I go for a walk down to the cove, and I go look at whatever's there that day. And if I don't do that, I lose my ideas. I think you've got to kind of live in whatever you whatever you celebrate, whatever you work hard at, I think you've got to live in that environment and then cut out the noise for a while.
• 17:58
  Katie Burke: Yeah. So that brings me to another question because with doing the rigs, and I know you hunt over your own and stuff, but
• 18:05
  Josh Brewer: Not many.
• 18:05
  Katie Burke: Not many, but yes. Like, will you get to see will you get to go hunt with these rigs at any point? I know it's in the Canvasback one, to see what the ducks are doing? Because that would be, I think, useful to you
• 18:19
  Josh Brewer: Yeah.
• 18:19
  Katie Burke: To see how ducks are reacting to your decoys.
• 18:22
  Josh Brewer: I had a nice call from my last rig of canvas backs I worked really hard on, and one of the gentlemen who was hunting over them, he had a pair of sharp tailed grouse pitching on the canvas backs. He said, I'll be honest with you, never seen that before. And the stories you get out of that are just really cool. I hope I get to see them someday working.
• 18:40
  Katie Burke: Yeah. I think that
• 18:41
  Josh Brewer: I don't often get to get like a big singular rig of my birds out. Yeah. It's kind of
• 18:46
  Katie Burke: Usually, it's piecemeal.
• 18:47
  Josh Brewer: Yeah. Piecemeal. That's cobbler's kids sort of stuff.
• 18:50
  Katie Burke: Yeah. Because people like they a lot of people who hunt with old decoys do like the idea of hunting, like, they know Yeah. All of y'all and they like having one from everybody. Yeah.
• 19:00
  Josh Brewer: But it's nice to see that big singular vision. So Yeah.
• 19:03
  Katie Burke: Alright. So you haven't just been doing decoys lately.
• 19:06
  Josh Brewer: Right. Some fish have been in Well, got one behind you. Let me
• 19:11
  Katie Burke: These are underrated. So I always loved. And I'm not a fish person, but they're cool.
• 19:17
  Josh Brewer: I grew up fly fishing on a pond that my parents lived on. It's a little pond, but I always wanted there to be trout. I love trout. There were no trout where I was, but I have this appreciation for bluegill. Yeah.
• 19:29
  So, you know, I grew up just fishing every day. I was a fish nut and I still love to fly fish. I got some chances this year to go out and do some steelhead fishing. This was from an idea from one of them that we had a great few days of steelhead fishing this year. Yeah.
• 19:44
  Fish are different. They allow you kind of a different, you know, yes, it's still carved and it's still painted, and I'm carving with most of the same tools and painting with the same paints.
• 19:53
  Katie Burke: And this is a good example too of your more detailed paint too.
• 19:56
  Josh Brewer: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
• 19:57
  Katie Burke: You get really detailed in there.
• 19:58
  Josh Brewer: But, you know, it's such a different process. It's a nice break for me.
• 20:03
  Katie Burke: Yeah. And you make all the back too, don't you?
• 20:05
  Josh Brewer: Yeah. Yeah. My dad was a really great furniture craftsman and I still I think about him when I yeah. I still think about him when I'm making this stuff. So that's like a lot of lot of joy for me.
• 20:18
  Get out of that.
• 20:18
  Katie Burke: Yeah. No. That's beautiful. Anyway. No.
• 20:21
  But it does show you're like more detailed what you used to be doing.
• 20:25
  Josh Brewer: Yeah. And I still like some of that. I mean, I guess I'm learning to balance it a little bit. Yeah.
• 20:32
  Katie Burke: I really love at Easton, you had that wood duck with the acorn, which I love that decoy. I'm getting that sold pretty quick at Easton.
• 20:40
  Josh Brewer: Yeah. Did. Did.
• 20:41
  Katie Burke: Wood Well, ducks are Well, everybody loves wood ducks. They're a lightning rod. Wood ducks and pintails.
• 20:46
  Josh Brewer: Yeah. Well, and honestly, are two of my favorites. It's like, well, I'm no stranger to Yeah. Everybody loves wood ducks and pintails.
• 20:52
  Katie Burke: We talk about it all the time when
• 20:54
  Josh Brewer: You say some if somebody likes coot as their favorite bird, then they're unique. It's not real unique for me to like wood ducks and pintails much.
• 21:00
  Katie Burke: It's not. Yeah. It's not. What we always talk about when we do, like, the duck stamp stuff every year
• 21:05
  Josh Brewer: Yeah.
• 21:05
  Katie Burke: And, like, if a pintail or a wood duck is on the list, it's like, I bet they're gonna be ducks there.
• 21:10
  Josh Brewer: Right.
• 21:11
  Katie Burke: The last year, the wood duck did not win, was crazy.
• 21:15
  Josh Brewer: Yeah. Yeah.
• 21:15
  Katie Burke: And Scott Storm had a really cool one. Yeah. But anyway, I also kinda wanna point out your little robbing because you did it with your son.
• 21:23
  Josh Brewer: Yeah.
• 21:23
  Katie Burke: Yeah. So you just this one's yours. Right? But all three of you did one?
• 21:27
  Josh Brewer: Yeah. So my boys are 10 and almost eight. Yeah. And so they're homeschooled. So they're always, you know, their mom is a great teacher, but they sneak away from her.
• 21:38
  And so throughout the day, they show up in the shop and they've both gotten really artful at sitting down and asking a question to me. And then before I know it, they've got knives and chips and Yeah. It's so I said we've got to make some things. So I wanted something small enough and I was making some minis for the Eastern Waterfowl Festival.
• 21:57
  Katie Burke: Yeah. I love it.
• 21:58
  Josh Brewer: I made this little robin with them and, you know, I was making it as work, but they said, dad, you can't sell that. You got to Yeah.
• 22:04
  Katie Burke: Know. Because you all have it.
• 22:05
  Josh Brewer: Yeah. Yeah.
• 22:06
  Katie Burke: Was that their first
• 22:07
  Josh Brewer: That was their
• 22:07
  Katie Burke: first completed?
• 22:09
  Josh Brewer: Their first full one.
• 22:10
  Katie Burke: Yeah. Yeah. No. You have to keep them.
• 22:12
  Josh Brewer: So
• 22:12
  Katie Burke: They're gonna fight over who gets yours one day.
• 22:15
  Josh Brewer: I need to make another one.
• 22:16
  Katie Burke: Yeah. Me too. Yeah. Because they will fight over
• 22:18
  Josh Brewer: it. They're not done painting, so I'll I'll hurry up and get another one.
• 22:21
  Katie Burke: So Yeah. Because otherwise, they'll yeah. They're going to fight over who gets one.
• 22:26
  Josh Brewer: They're fun and it's it's really you know, when you're when you're trying to figure out how to take something as unique as making decoys for a living, how to make it work, you're always selling your work or you're always thinking about how you can stay on the the edge of it, you know, how you can innovate and make yourself better at what you do. And I think the last year or so, I've breathed a little bit and I do want to take in like with my kids, it's a good example. I want them to learn. Yeah. So the longer I go, the more I want other people to learn to do it and to come into it and to bring what they have.
• 23:02
  Yeah. Because everybody's got something way different. You you take people of equal talents and you set them down three people of equal talent, and you set them down with a block of wood, they're going to carve very different things. Yeah. Even if the pattern was the same, it's going to come out different.
• 23:18
  Katie Burke: And I I think it's People see different things when they look at stuff. Like, you know, you're right. Like, not only will they come up with everything, but even just like looking at one of your decoys or a painting, like, don't see the same thing. Yeah. It's different things stand out.
• 23:31
  Josh Brewer: And I mean, how many people are there? I mean, you just think about your viewership or whatever. How many people are there who have an interest in hunting their time off in the duck hunters are kind of unique because we have this window. Mhmm. And then I think duck hunters are better at keeping it alive throughout the rest of the year.
• 23:48
  Yeah. A lot of people, there's not much to partake in. There's a habitat restoration and all, but Yeah. Duck hunters, I think, I'd like to see more people pick up a cork blank and make a decoy for next year or whatever.
• 24:00
  Katie Burke: You know, it's been you say that and that's really interesting. And I have gotten, I guess they've listened to the show or they've seen it on Instagram. Mhmm. But I've had a handful of people I'm me on Instagram Mhmm. Pictures of things they've carved.
• 24:15
  Josh Brewer: Yes. Yeah.
• 24:16
  Katie Burke: Yeah. And I it's surprising, and I always get pretty excited to see it. I'm like, oh, it's Yeah. It's infecting people. People are catching on and doing it and being inspired and that honestly, like, if that's all that this does
• 24:30
  Josh Brewer: Yeah.
• 24:30
  Katie Burke: Makes me happy.
• 24:31
  Josh Brewer: Yeah. I know. I I think they're that's a really cool thing to carry it forward. And, you know, whether you did it in 1850 or whether you do it 1950 or whether you do it now, there are some unique things about decoys that stay pretty similar, and it's neat to be part of it. I mean, can be part of a pretty old tradition.
• 24:50
  Katie Burke: Yeah. It's a history and the community too. That's the other thing about it is you're also part of this And y'all are always so willing to talk to people who are serious about stuff like that and wanting to try.
• 25:03
  Josh Brewer: And an amateur decoy is a great thing. You learn so much about the bird. And it's not a boat, you know, you're not gonna you're not gonna sink on a decoy in January. You can you can really just put yourself out there and see if it works.
• 25:15
  Katie Burke: Did you keep your first decoy?
• 25:17
  Josh Brewer: I did. Yeah. You did? First few.
• 25:18
  Katie Burke: How is it?
• 25:19
  Josh Brewer: Awful. Yeah. Horrible. Yeah. Which I think should be I mean, it's encouraging to me.
• 25:25
  Yeah. And I think I think one of the hardest things to do is to learn something new as an adult.
• 25:30
  Katie Burke: Oh, yeah.
• 25:32
  Josh Brewer: People are, you know, you look at a kid who picks up a guitar at eight and they're not beating themselves up.
• 25:37
  Katie Burke: They don't care. Yeah. They don't care.
• 25:38
  Josh Brewer: Yeah. But you take somebody who's a professional and is like, I am all about, you know, being good at what I do. And it's hard to learn from the bottom up again. And it can be fast, but if you don't give yourself a little breathing room to
• 25:51
  Katie Burke: Yeah.
• 25:52
  Josh Brewer: Fail. Yeah. Have some failure, then it's it's not as fun.
• 25:55
  Katie Burke: So No. That's very true. And kids like and you can also just tell a kid, oh, you're kind of good at that. And they'll be like, absorb it immediately and then, like, keep going.
• 26:05
  Josh Brewer: I had a few birds this year that I did that I would like the carving, but I didn't like the paint and Yeah. Took them back down to bare wood. One of them I took back down to bare wood three times, loved the carving, wasn't going to let it go. But each time, I was like, the paint, no.
• 26:21
  Katie Burke: Alright. I question. This reminds me. So when I was at Cameron's, I did his interview, I
• 26:25
  Josh Brewer: did it
• 26:25
  Katie Burke: at his place, and he has like this sea of rejects. Yep. Yeah. And he doesn't like them. He's like, maybe one day I'll like something about it, but they're there.
• 26:35
  Do you keep them? Because he keeps them.
• 26:37
  Josh Brewer: Yeah. Yeah.
• 26:38
  Katie Burke: He likes to I
• 26:41
  Josh Brewer: don't know. For him, they're probably really grand.
• 26:44
  Katie Burke: Oh, look great. Yeah.
• 26:45
  Josh Brewer: For me, my rejects, there's it's a good humility pile. Right? You know, you look at that and you say, just because I wake up and show up doesn't mean they're going to be great. You gotta
• 26:53
  Katie Burke: Yeah. And he says he gets a lot like, hey, remember it didn't work that way.
• 26:57
  Josh Brewer: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. You've you've dissect them a little bit.
• 27:01
  You don't have to think about it that way. You don't have to be all scientific, but you kind of look and say, I'm not going go that direction again.
• 27:08
  Katie Burke: Yeah. Like, he's like, a lot of times, like, he'll want to do the same thing again and like, oh, yeah. Remember?
• 27:12
  Josh Brewer: There's a reason.
• 27:13
  Katie Burke: Yeah. Yeah. There's a reason it doesn't work. Yeah. Yeah.
• 27:16
  No. That's interesting. Yeah. I thought that was that was the first time I really noticed that was in his because he had like this whole reject pile. I was like, yeah, that makes sense.
• 27:23
  Josh Brewer: They're fun. And honestly, sometimes those birds go into my rig. I'm willing to Yeah. Over my rejects. It's okay.
• 27:29
  Sell out the spread. Yeah.
• 27:30
  Katie Burke: So Awesome. Alright. Is there anything, we haven't talked about that you've been doing lately that you wanna mention or call out.
• 27:39
  Josh Brewer: I can't think of it. No. It was a good good all rounder.
• 27:42
  Katie Burke: I'm That was
• 27:43
  Josh Brewer: really busy making rigs and every once in a while making something different.
• 27:46
  Katie Burke: You got a lot coming up?
• 27:48
  Josh Brewer: Yeah. Yeah. I've tried to pair down to two shows for a long time, and so I'm doing four this year. So
• 27:56
  Katie Burke: Oh, what are you doing? So Easton, I'm guessing?
• 27:58
  Josh Brewer: Yeah. There's Easton, and then we have the good one on the Eastern Shore Of Virginia.
• 28:02
  Katie Burke: The Core Sound? Is that what
• 28:04
  Josh Brewer: it's called? I didn't do Core Sound. That's North Carolina.
• 28:06
  Katie Burke: Oh, that's on me. The one that Tommy O'Connor
• 28:08
  Josh Brewer: Yeah. Does. Yeah. He's gonna switch the timing of that one this year.
• 28:11
  Katie Burke: Oh, great.
• 28:11
  Josh Brewer: And then I probably to to double down on my roots, I'll probably try to go show up at the Chincoteague
• 28:19
  Katie Burke: Okay.
• 28:20
  Josh Brewer: The news there's gonna be a new Chincoteague, Virginia Oh, nice. Show. That was the first show I did. The first show I ever did was Labor Day in Chincoteague, Virginia. It used to be a great old decoy show and they're trying to bring it back.
• 28:31
  Katie Burke: Awesome. I'd like to hear that they're bringing some of these back. Yeah.
• 28:33
  Josh Brewer: Yeah.
• 28:34
  Katie Burke: That's really cool. Well, thanks for doing this.
• 28:36
  Josh Brewer: Yeah. Thanks for having me. Appreciate it.
• 28:37
  Katie Burke: Yeah. You're always fun to have on here.
• 28:39
  Josh Brewer: Have fun this weekend. I'm sure there's a lot to a lot to see.
• 28:42
  Katie Burke: Oh, yeah. There's plenty to do and see. I can't wait to see the
• 28:44
  Josh Brewer: auction tomorrow. Oh, yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
• 28:46
  Katie Burke: Alright. Well, thanks Josh for coming on
• 28:48
  Josh Brewer: the Thanks.
• 28:49
  Katie Burke: Thanks to our producer Chris Isaac, and thanks to you, our listener, for supporting wetlands and waterfowl conservation.
• 28:56
  VO: Thank you for listening to the DU Podcast sponsored by Purina Pro Plan, the official performance dog food of Ducks Unlimited. Purina Pro Plan, always advancing. Also proudly sponsored by Bird Dog Whiskey and Cocktails. Whether you're winding down with your best friend or celebrating with your favorite crew, Bird Dog brings award winning flavor to every moment. Enjoy responsibly. Be sure to rate, review, and subscribe to the show and visit ducks.org/dupodcast. Opinions expressed by guests do not necessarily reflect those of Ducks Unlimited. Until next time, stay tuned to the Ducks.